Searching a mySQL DB with PHP

[Anon]

I need help with the following im trying to create a searchable database. i have the database setup and running and i have created my web interface what i need to do now is be able to send a query to the database and have it return any records that have what the user entered as there search criteria here is an example

if the user enters somthing like: win98 installation

i want the database to send me back all the records that contain either the words win98 or installation or both if applicable.

I have no clue how to format the query string to get such a responce i have what the user enters stored as the
variable: $sbox

Thank you for you help

Robert

[Anon]

SELECT id_num
FROM table
WHERE text LIKE "%$bbox%";

Without knowing how your database is setup, and what tables/fields you have that's as specific as I can get.

Basically look at the LIKE operator in MySQL, it will tell you how to use it and what it is for. You should know that LIKE is a very slow operator, and the larger your fields, and the larger your database the slower your queries are going to run.

You might want to think about creating some referance tables that will store all of the keywords from an article since it would be easier to search and return information from.